The Amazing Human Eye: 20 Interesting Facts

It’s your favourite sense. Sight! A gift that allow us to see and appreciate the world around us. At Market Mall Optometry, we encourage you to take care of your eyes by having them routinely examined.

We have compiled a list of factoids about the amazing human eye:

• According to researchers, it’s now believed that all blue eyed people have a single ancestor in common, who lived close to the Black Sea 10,000 years ago.
• The rumours are true; when you sneeze it’s impossible to keep your eyes open.
• If you're scared of eyes, than you have Ommtophobia (a fear of eyes).
• If you’re eating a pound of carrots a day to strengthen your eyes, you can stop now. This myth was invented by the British during World War II to hide technology from the Nazis.
• The retinas in your eyes actually perceive everything you see Upside-Down. It’s your brain that flips the image.
• Your retinas can’t detect the colour red.
• You blink approximately 17 times per minute.
• The size of your eyes when you were born is the same size throughout your life.
• Eyes began developing and evolving 550 million years ago.
• Your eye has 2 million working parts.
• Our memories are based on approximately 80% of what we see.
• The human eye weighs just less than 1 ounce.
• The eyes are only 2nd to the brain in complexity.
• The retina has 256 unique characteristics compared to the finger print, which has 40.
• Over 1 million nerve fibres connect your eyes to your brain.
• The human eye can distinguish around 10 million colours.
• If your eyes were a digital camera, they would have 576 megapixels.
• 10% of our waking hours are spent with our eyes closed, thanks to blinking.
• Researchers use the game Tetris as a successful treatment for lazy eye.
• 80% of vision problems globally are curable.

Make sure you remember the last fact on the list! A majority of vision problems can be fixed and that’s an important reason to have your eyes checked routinely.

To schedule a routine eye examination, contact us today via 403.286.4884.